SMOKED OR CLEAR HEADLIGHTS ?????

rispoli_23

rispoli_23

Member
Jul 7, 2008
182
0
16
#1
im ready to get rid of my old chrome headlights and some get some new black ones but i cant decide on smoked or clear lenses i need to make my decision by wed ... i have heard the smoked ones are hard to see out of oh and also whats the difference from the ebay ones vs anywhere else hell they all say they need to be sealed ... what u guys think
 

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#3
oem smoked headlights or clear corners without the smoked lens. I used my friends smoked headlights for about a week and went back to my oem smoked headlights. Both sets had hids in them, but there was no comparing the light output between the two.
 
#4
Dark Smoked!
212.jpg
 
#6
I bought these from American Muscle.
Smoked Mustang Headlights (99-04) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

Got the $40 Sylvania Silverstar bulbs to go with them but to be honest they still aren't very bright through the dark tinted lenses. Everywhere I drive though is well lit so it has never been a concern.

Gave the front of my car a whole new mean look. I love them.

View attachment 204112
View attachment 204113

I would buy those from AM before going through eBay. You know exactly what you're getting by reading reviews, looking at the customer-uploaded photos, and the ones I just showed you, not to mention they're very reputable and have great customer service. The lenses are alot darker than most of the pics portray them to be. I think mine are a pretty accurate representation of how dark they are.

And for the record, I bought the silicone to seal mine but it looked like a pain in the ass due to some tight spots so I just said screw it. If they get condensation I'll dry them in the sun as mentioned in the tutorial, then seal them. They have small drain hoses in the back to let moisture out. So far I have had zero issues. They look GREAT.

They go good with the taillights from AM also.
View attachment 204114

These are the dark smoked headlights. Not sure how much darker they can really get haha I was told the ones I bought were lighter than the Dark Smoked, but looking at RasikaJay's car they appear much darker than the "Dark Smoked." Also, whether it matters to you or not, mine have the amber corners which I really started to like, but the Dark Smoked have cleaner silver/smoked corners I believe. Both look really good in person.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/sm99hewiclco.html

And here are the taillights.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/taillights-9904-smoked.html

I loved the taillights the minute I put them on too. AM actually used my car in a couple of their ads.
View attachment 204115
 
#12
the ones linked in the last post are the same as i bought. they will be much better if you drive at night

i had both the clear ones and the smoked ones and ended up selling the smoked ones b/c i couldnt see anything at night even with HID's installed.

and BTW the ebay ones are the same as AM will send you for double the price. they all come form the same place in china but i'm sure someone will argue that they are different
 
#13
SaleenGT2001 said:
the ones linked in the last post are the same as i bought. they will be much better if you drive at night

i had both the clear ones and the smoked ones and ended up selling the smoked ones b/c i couldnt see anything at night even with HID's installed.

and BTW the ebay ones are the same as AM will send you for double the price. they all come form the same place in china but i'm sure someone will argue that they are different
Click to expand...

The $165 American Muscle ones are made by Raxiom if you want to use that for any comparison. As far as quality difference from eBay I wouldn't have a clue, but these are great.

I ALWAYS drive with my foglights on so when it comes time to turn my headlights on as well, half the time I find myself pulling on the headlight knob to make sure they're actually on and that's not just my foglights I'm looking at because those are pretty bright haha and not much less than the headlights with the tint.

As I mentioned previously though, everything is well lit around here. When I was stationed in Texas there were plenty of really dark roads with no streetlights and I could see it being a concern in that case, because the highbeams are nothing like they used to be. Until then though I'm definitely keeping my smoked lenses.
 
#14
Thanks for all the feedback guys I think I'm going to go with the clear lenses since I live in Oklahoma and all the streets are dark ... it is hard to chooses between am and ebay because they look the same lol ....
 
#16
Sorry to bring up on old topic, but I thought it was better than starting a new one.....So in the next couple of weeks I'm replacing my headlights and I'm seriously considering the '99-'01 style clear ones:
Chrome Mustang Headlights (99-04) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

Although I love the look of smoked, I need some night vision capabilities. I drive my little girls to school in this car from time to time, plus living in rural east tennesse you can imagine how dark some of the roads can be. How awful will these look against my silver paint if I go with them? Any alternatives given that I want to see really good at night (without the cost of HIDS)? I keep reading how much darker than stock the "stock replacement" ones from AM are and I don't want that. Thanks!:nice:
 
#17
View attachment 200753

Got these off ebay at least 2 yrs ago, didnt reseal just threw them on. OEM fit and havent had any condensation.

bonestock, throw some fresh silverstars in there if you havent, will make a world of difference if those are the stock bulbs! I did that when i went with these smoked ones and I had the clear oems and my light output ended up being better so that wont hurt any if you havent changed them in a while.
 
#18
I have clear, without the yellow reflector on my silver Mustang and I think it looks a lot better than the dark headlights do...but it depends on the color of the car

lighting-wise I don't think it will make a huge difference as long as the lens isn't tinted
 
#19
I just put a set of the chrome clear headlights on my car two nights ago. Even though I have the aero body style and front end, the look great! I didn't realize just how bad the stock ones until I got these boys on. I've got a lot more pictures, but I'm going to wait until I make a new thread about it (waiting till I finished up a few more things and make 1 big thread).

1022657.jpg

1022663.jpg
 
#20
Those look great on your car Sneaky. I'm sure the light output is nice.:nice:

crzyhrse99 - I am defintely in favor of going back to OEM, but everything I keep reading says the aftermarket ones, even from AM, are a lot darker than they thought they'd be. I do have Silverstars on my wife's van, and love them. I need a new set of headlights on my car because of condensation, and just generally rough looking lenses. My only concern with the clear looking '99-'01 lenses are that against my silver paint, it'll look like an elbino...:(
 
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